A good tile installer that knows what he is doing, can easily remove that single piece of tile.... carefully replace it with another one. Do you have another extra pieces of the same tile? Do you know what brand and color the existing grout is? That will be more of the issue trying to get the grout match to match up or the finding the same tile (in the same dye lot) if you need to buy another tile. Did the heat cause the break or did a pan bang into the glass? Consider installing a heat resistant Lumicor or 3 Form panel behind the stove. Any flat material that can be sandwiched between two resin panels. 1). Crushed glass. 2). Fabric. 3). Fabric. 4). Fabric.

actually, to brighten up this dark and small feeling space, i'd look for a creamy base colored stone like khasmir gold or ivory gold, being sure to add an overhang on the island (if you like movement in the stone check out juprana granite) then exchange the pot rack over the island with either a pair of great pendants or a statement chandelier. from my own kitchen remodel experience i'll share you with you this: you'll get a much better price from a granite company then you will from a large home store ;) and be sure to take a cabinet door with you to shop. you can continue the granite onto the wall as a backsplash...they can cut the stone and make it go higher up the wall than the standard 3 inches which can be a great look. but if you really want tile, go for something simple that won't compete with the granite....like a cream colored subway tile. you can apply thim in a running brick pattern or a more modern stacked geometric pattern or even a herringbone. to control staining from food prep, don't use a white grout, use a slightly darker grout color that is inspired from the stone countertop. just remember that using a pattern on the countertop and another pattern on the backsplash can easily become overwhelming and then neither element stands out as the focal point. if you are spending a lot on a granite countertop, do everything you can to make it stand out as the best feature.

Yes they do have similar styles in porcelain, but to me it doesn't look the same. Search around that site and see if any of the other tile designs in other materials strike your fancy. I know you said you don't like the subway, but you could get a glass tile in a 2X8 and lay it in a herringbone or find shorter ones and do a chevron. Don't know if you care for mosaics, or penny rounds, those would also look nice. You are going to have to narrow it down to a look you are drawn to, and then go from there. Search kitchen backsplashes on here to get some ideas as well.

thank you very much to everyone who responded! I'll look into espresso and charcoal grays. As well as the steel backplash. Emmarenes, I'm living abroad in India, and the only granites in my budget are the local ones. I was advised against the gray and white local ones because i was told that they would not hold up well in the kitchen. I could have gone with a black galaxy as well but i have that granite now and despise it because of the way it hides ants and bugs so well. we live in a tropical area and there are always critters here and there. My first choice was a Brazilian white granite but it was triple the price. This granite is called Shiva pink, so it has a pink salmon and gray look to it. Im really hoping I don't hate it once it's installed. The stoneyard was a 9 hour trip up and down and i was just pressured to make a choice after several undecided trips. And I'm getting new cabinets put in. but I think I can wait for them to put the slab before staining the wood. Thanks for that idea :)